Abstract

Summary

Seventy-five Egyptian village children were followed bacteriologically, via weekly rectal swab cultures, for one year for the presence of Shigella organisms. Shigella were recovered at least once from 73 (97.3%) of the subjects. On the average, each child had approximately four positive cultures during the year.

Two hundred and ninety-five strains of Shigella were recovered. Thirty (10.2%) were group A Shigella, 209 (70.8%) were group B, 19 (3.4%) were group C and 46 (15.6%) were group D. S. flexneri 2a, 3, 4a, 5 and S. sonnei were the most commonly encountered types. S. dysenteriae 1 was rarely found. S. flexneri 3 was recovered from 42.6 per cent of the children, S. flexneri 2a from 37.3 per cent, S. sonnei from 36 per cent, S. flexneri 4a from 28 per cent and S. flexneri 5 from 20 per cent.

Alternation in Shigella types found in replicate weekly specimens from individual children was frequently observed. A distinct seasonal incidence in the recovery of positive Shigella cultures was noted.